Spencerville Exotic Auction---did you go?

[DixyDoodle]

(and also some questions in regards to auctions in general)

Did anyone here go to the Spencerville Exotic Livestock auction on Saturday, besides me that is! What a great day I had, and I didn't even buy anything. Mini horses, donkeys, poultry, cows (angus and zubu, among others) plus some really funky critters like coaties, snakes, turtles, and capybaras.

I was there to buy a mini horse or small pony, and I was tempted but just didn't find what I wanted. But oh, the things I didn't need that held myself back from bidding on. I ended up talking to one man (who lives several hours away) who it turns out sold a donkey to my relatives, what are the odds of that? And then, I was speaking to another lady who said, "you have an ad on a horse site, don't you?" in regards to my colt being for sale. And also my niece's inlaws who were in the market for an alpaca. So I spent a good deal of the day chatting it up with people.

I was very close to buying a couple of pairs of muscovies that were there: a black pair and a chocolate/grey pair, but since I hadn't my coop ready yet, I regretfully passed.

I do have a few questions about auctions though:

1/If a buyer's livestock sells for under a price which he considers to be adequate, and there is no reserve bid, can he pull his animals out after they were successfully bid on? There was a rumour going around the place that a gentleman felt his stock did not get the prices he wanted, so after they were "sold" he became angry, packed the stock up, and went home. Is this legal? I was under the assumption that without a reserve bid, once they're sold, they're sold. Would that not be theft on the seller's part at that point? Or maybe this rumour was just that?

2/What are "swaps"? The ad said that poulty was to be swapped. To me, this sounds like you go in with your stock and trade (so you can get some "new blood"), but I don't think that's quite right? Most of the poultry had price tags on them, so I assume you could buy them, but at the end of the auction, they were put up for bids. I don't understand how this works. So you can buy them up front, or wait to maybe get them cheaper through auction bidding?

3/If I wanted to get a closer look at, say, a horse.....should you ask to have the seller paged so you can get in there with the horse and have a closer look/feel at what you might bid on? I would not want to just jump right in the pen without permission, although I saw several people do this. I think that's a little nervy to do that, and maybe dangerous besides. Is there a proper way to go about that? Is it better to catch the owner---or auctioneer---right upon the doors opening? I assume so.

4/If you have poultry that you have brought to auction, do you tend to stick around to answer questions or just leave it up to the auctioneer? I would have loved to talk with the muscovy owners, but it seemed that all the owners had taken a powder for the most part. Maybe that's why they weren't selling or being "swapped"? There seemed to be many people pulling in with vehicles, dropping their stock off, and leaving right away.

Anyways, if you have some good tips on how to go about stock buying at auctions, I would love to hear them! Up until Saturday, I had limited myself to boring furniture/estate auctions, but these livestock ones are way more fun.....and tempting!

DD

[jnap31]

I love livestock auctions just make sure you dont buy a birds/birds exposed to a sick bird or sick themselves I wiped out my flock that way.

[buspete]

Originally Posted by DixyDoodle

(and also some questions in regards to auctions in general)

Did anyone here go to the Spencerville Exotic Livestock auction on Saturday, besides me that is! What a great day I had, and I didn't even buy anything. Mini horses, donkeys, poultry, cows (angus and zubu, among others) plus some really funky critters like coaties, snakes, turtles, and capybaras.

Never even heard of some of these critters! What's a zubu?

I was there to buy a mini horse or small pony, and I was tempted but just didn't find what I wanted. But oh, the things I didn't need that held myself back from bidding on. I ended up talking to one man (who lives several hours away) who it turns out sold a donkey to my relatives, what are the odds of that? And then, I was speaking to another lady who said, "you have an ad on a horse site, don't you?" in regards to my colt being for sale. And also my niece's inlaws who were in the market for an alpaca. So I spent a good deal of the day chatting it up with people.

Auctions are great social occasions. At our local weekly auction, there are old timers that go every week just to watch and get out of the house. You can learn a LOT of old-time homesteader stuff from chatting with an 80 year old guy!

I do have a few questions about auctions though:

1/If a buyer's livestock sells for under a price which he considers to be adequate, and there is no reserve bid, can he pull his animals out after they were successfully bid on? There was a rumour going around the place that a gentleman felt his stock did not get the prices he wanted, so after they were "sold" he became angry, packed the stock up, and went home. Is this legal? I was under the assumption that without a reserve bid, once they're sold, they're sold. Would that not be theft on the seller's part at that point? Or maybe this rumour was just that?

That was kind of rude of him. Generally when entering something into an auction you are agreeing to sell it at whatever the hammer price is unless there is a reserve. It would depend on what the written rules of that particular auction say, it is usually a binding contract.

2/What are "swaps"? The ad said that poulty was to be swapped. To me, this sounds like you go in with your stock and trade (so you can get some "new blood"), but I don't think that's quite right? Most of the poultry had price tags on them, so I assume you could buy them, but at the end of the auction, they were put up for bids. I don't understand how this works. So you can buy them up front, or wait to maybe get them cheaper through auction bidding?

Swapping means that folks are allowed to sell stuff as well as have them run through the auction. Sort of like a mini-flea market. Some auctions allow swapping in the parking lot, others do not. Ours doesn't, nor do they allow any poultry.

3/If I wanted to get a closer look at, say, a horse.....should you ask to have the seller paged so you can get in there with the horse and have a closer look/feel at what you might bid on? I would not want to just jump right in the pen without permission, although I saw several people do this. I think that's a little nervy to do that, and maybe dangerous besides. Is there a proper way to go about that? Is it better to catch the owner---or auctioneer---right upon the doors opening? I assume so.

It never hurts to ask the auction staff what the rules are. Mostly, you would be wise to hop on in and check the critters out yourself. Gotta use common sense. If you are looking at a bull who seems agitated, I'd reconsider hopping in! By examining them in person, you get to get a feel for them. For instance, when picking out a bottle calf, I spent some time in the pen with the whole lot of them, seeing which ones seemed the most alert, letting them suck my fingers to see who had the best sucking instincts etc. Auction critters are "as-is" and it behooves you to make sure the animal is up to your standards or needs.

Talking to owner is only somewhat helpful, and very dependent on his honesty. Remember that they are there to get rid of the animal.

When shopping for an animal that is coming home to live with you (as opposed to going home to your freezer) that you should learn what you can about what to look for in a healthy (and unhealthy) animal. This is where talking to the old guy spectators comes in really handy. Ask lots of questions of lots of people. Also remember that your new critter has just passed through a place with lots of animals of unknown health. Be sure to quarrantene them from your other critters when you get home until they prove to be healthy.

Anyways, if you have some good tips on how to go about stock buying at auctions, I would love to hear them! Up until Saturday, I had limited myself to boring furniture/estate auctions, but these livestock ones are way more fun.....and tempting!

DD

The most important thing is to learn about what to look for in an animal. Remember to not pay too much in the heat of the moment.

Our best buy so far has been a sheep that I picked up for $26. It was 89lbs, and we got 48lb of meat out of her. That breaks down to a sheepskin in full fleece, 48 pounds of food (plus a bag of haggis fixins') and a bunch of dog bones. Discounting the hide and haggis, that meant our mutton we've been eating all spring long cost us $.54 per pound.

There will be many, many replies to your post telling you to never buy an animal at auction, and give good reasons. We choose to do it but do our homework and know what we are getting into.

[BrahmaMama]

I was there! Just for a little while tho' (long story I won't get into it).

I wanted to buy a whole lot of critters just to take them home and trim their hooves lol!
But did you see the little brown donk & baby at the back! I wanted to buy them BIG TIME! Not enough room at the Inn tho'.
My Mum wanted me to buy the 2 little black and white kids, I wasn't even sure what they were, but man were they cute!

I ended up buying a pretty Welsh Harlequin duck, that's all.

[DixyDoodle]

Sorry, that was supposed to be zebu. It's a miniature breed of cattle. Very sweet looking, these were grey and resembled a jersey in the face, but with a large hump. They went for around $1500 each I believe!

BrahmaMama, yes, I recall that donkey very well. She was not allowing her baby to nurse and was being quite nasty in general with it. Some people were becoming concerned about it. It might have been the stress of being there and all that, but still you can't help but feel sorry for them. One of the girls went and said something to the others in charge, but they didn't do much about it.

That upsets me too, to see some animals that have seen better days and hopefully will see better owners. Some I would be ashamed to put up in front of people if they are not groomed propertly (or worse). But most horses there were ok. What did you think of that paint mare that was ready to pop? She looked absolutely miserable, they said she was not due for another month, she looked like she could go right in the ring.

Did you see that palomino pony near the end with the little foal.....ohhhh, that was tempting! LOL But I really didn't want to go home with a foal. Almost bid on that red roan pony too, but chickened out. He just seemed to get a little too feisty before the auction. I was looking for a dead calm pony, if there is such a thing!

I was standing near the lady with the two kids after she bought them, what a cute pair they were, she had them tucked neatly under each arm. I think they went to a good home, she kept snuggling with them.

I left before the end of the auction, a little after they did that lone swan. Had to race to get to the store before it closed or my ducks woulda been eating Cheerios for the weekend!

DD